Topic 4 Posi Study Guide

What is Texas Political Culture and how does it affect our views?

People's collective attitudes about government and politics, and the values they want government to support. It forms the view of what role ordinary people should play in the political process.

What is public opinion?

The aggregate of individuals opinions on issues

How is it connected to individual opinions?

Individuals are socialized and the sum of individual opinions becomes public opinion.

What role do most Texans think ordinary citizens should play in politics?

Limited

Types of political participation in Texas

Running for office, displaying your preference by posting a yard sign, wearing a button, or placing a bumper sticker, working for candidate by block walking, or making phone calls. State employees of Texas can belong to labor unions, but they cannot engage in collective bargaining.

What are the demographics of the state's population?

Texas has a majority minority population

Has the population of Texas grown?

Yes, it is growing faster than most other states. This is important because of the impact on the electoral college since each state has as many electors as their US senators(2) and Us House representatives (38) and the candidate with the most votes take all the electors in the state. 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency and if no one gets that number the House of Representatives decides who become president.

How do they operate?

Used to select the candidate of the party that will stand in the general election. If no candidate gets the majority in a primary, a runoff primary occurs. -this practice is used in South, like Texas.

Is the state's political party system strong or weak?

Fairly weak

Why is it fairly weak the state's political party system?

They are weak because there are really 50 state party structures, this phenomenon leaves room for interest group influence.

What party is dominate in Texas and when did that party gain dominance

Texas is considered a one-party Republican party state. Republican [arty started to gain prominence since the Texas voted for Eisenhower in 1952 but became dominate in 1980s. Despite this shift there was a minimal change in governing policy

What factors will contribute to continued party dominance in the state?

Securing the vote of Texas minority population.

Are there minor parties in Texas?

Yes, the green party and libertarian party

Have the minor parties in Texas have they or are they successful?

No significant success

What the ideological views of political parties?

Republican is traditional values, status quo, public order, and free market. Then democrat is optimistic view of human nature, favor change, supportive of civil rights, and favor regulation.

What are state and local interest groups and what do they do?

State and local interest groups(SLIGs) protect local government interests from state interference.

What impact do interest groups have on constitutional amendments?

Most constitutional amendments are pushed through by interest's groups.

Who can vote?

Anyone who is registered and provide proof of identity and residency

What type of primary system is used in Texas?

Open (sometime referred to as semi-open) primary. Parties operate through committees, the state executive of committee for each party consists of an equal number of men and women. The country party chairs maintain party headquarters, fund-raise, conduct primaries, and count ballots cast in a primary. The precinct convention is lowest level of participation open to anyone who voted in the party's primary.

Who controls voting and elections?

The secretary of state. In Texas there is no straight ticket voting.

Texas constitutions

Are a contract between the state and the people based on a popular sovereignty and limited government

Define federalism and provide examples of the division of power between federal, state, and local

Federalism is a constitutional division of power between the national government and sub-national (states and cities) units. For example, the federal government funds infrastructure like highways, states set highway speed limits, and local government maintain city services likes libraries

What were the problems with the 1836 Constitution that led to revolution?

The abolition of slavery, suspension of 1824 Mexican Constitution, Mexican attacks on Angio farms, and Catholicism as the official religion. However, significant Spanish contributions to later Texas Constitutions was community property rights for women.

What were the characteristics of the 1869 constitution?

Strong centralized government under powerful governor. Abolished county courts allowed former male slaves to put public schools under state control, and gave the governor strong appointive authority.

What were the characteristics of the 1876 constitution and what accounted for its passage?

The passage of this constitution was a reaction to the strong centralized power under Governor E.J Davis who was a radical republican when most Texans were Democrats at that time

How is the Texas legislature structured?

Bicameral, 150 seats in the house and 31 in senate

How long is a legislative session and when do they occur?

140 days in odd numbered years

What are the qualifications to serve as a Texas senate memeber

26 years old, live in the state for 5 years and in the district for 1 year.

What are the qualifications to serve as Texas house member?

21-years old, live in the state for 2 years and in district for 1 year

What are the terms of office for senators?

4-year term and US senators from TX serve a 6-year term

What are the terms of office for representative in the Texas legislature?

2-year term and same as US house

What is the annual salary for a Texas legislator?

7,200

How are bills passed?

Through a system of committees and required a majority vote in both the House and Senate. If a bill is introduced after the sixtieth day of session, a vote of 4/5 is required

When are most bills passed?

In the last two weeks of session

Where is most of the legislative power in the state?

Power is dominated by leadership, speaker of the house and president of the senate which is the Lt.governor

What type of committee is the most powerful in the state legislature?

Standing committees

What does the Texas speaker of the house do

Appoints committee chairs

What does the president of the Texas senate do?

Presides over all sessions, and refers bills to committee

Is there an incumbent advantage?

Yes the speaker of the house the Lt., gov, and pres

What is the incumbent advantage?

The senate are rarely defeated for reelection

What are the qualifications to serve as Texas governor and as lieutenant governor?

Age, citizenship, and residency

What are the powers of the Texas governor and how do they compare to governors of other states?

Our governor is weak compared to other states because his appointments must be approved by the state Senate, most executive department heads in Texas are independently elected, and there is a general distrust of the governor's power due to the abuses of E.J Davis (1869). So, the governor of Texas has limited administrative, budgetary, and clemency power but is strong on tenue and veto authority

What are the powers of the Texas lieutenant governor?

Presides over the Texas senate with same power as speaker of the house in the house

What is the term of office for the Texas executive

4 years with no term limits. Only 2 governors have been recalled but that is not allowed in Texas

What are the largest sources of revenue for the state?

Sales tax. But in general, high oil prices have enabled the state to avoid most national recessions. Texas still leads the nation in oil production. Lately, Texas has become less of a land-based(farming) economy

What is the largest source of local revenue?

Property tax

Who appoints administrators and how are they confirmed?

Those that can be appointed are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas senate

Why had the Texas state board of education been criticized?

Deemphasizing civil rights movement, religious freedom, and Thomas Jefferson's role as a primary figure in world history